


Seijou Mermay, 2018

by distinct_dottiness



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Peter Pan Fusion, M/M, MerMay, Mermaids, Pirates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-05-01 05:25:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14513490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/distinct_dottiness/pseuds/distinct_dottiness
Summary: A collection of drabbles, following the prompts for MerMay 2018. Inspired by pussycat-scribbles' Peter Pan AU.





	1. Day 1: Snooty

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! If you're here, you probably like mermaids, Peter Pan, or some combination of the two. In an effort to get used to writing, motivate my brain, and hopefully improve my skills, I've decided to write a collection of short works, using the official MerMay prompts and with pussycat-scribbles' Peter Pan AU as my setting! If you are unfamiliar with this AU, (or pussycat-scribbles in general), I highly encourage you to check it/her out [here](http://pussycat-scribbles.tumblr.com/tagged/SEIJOU-MERMAIDS) (seriously, all her work is amazing!)  
> Since this is MerMay, Seijou will be the main focus of most chapters, though I hope to throw in a few more characters from time to time! Tags will be added as needed. I hope you find something here to enjoy!

“So, remind me again why you hate Kageyama?”

“I don’t hate him, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa said, turning up his nose. Iwaizumi could see the scowl on his face all the same. “I despise him. There’s a difference.”

“Oh yes, there’s definitely a big difference there, Iwa-chan,” called Matsukawa, lounging on the next rock over.

“Very, very big,” chimed in Hanamaki next to him. “Huge, Iwa-chan, absolutely massive. Even bigger than Oikawa’s big head, if you can believe that.”

“Hey!” Oikawa squawked, splashing his fins in the water as Iwaizumi snickered. The rock they were resting on was too far away from Hanamaki and Matsukawa for the water to reach them. “My head is perfectly proportioned, thank you very much. I could not say the same for two certain someone’s eyebrows.”

“You wound me,” Hanamaki said, yawning.

“I’ll show you where you can put my eyebrows…”

“There is something about him, though. Kageyama,” Kindaichi said. When Iwaizumi looked over, sure enough, he was sharing a rock with Kunimi. They all had their favorite perches in different parts of the lagoon, and in this particular spot close to the trees, Kunimi favored the shade. Yahaba and Watari were furthest away, talking quietly in the sun. Kyoutani was nowhere to be seen, but that was quite normal.

“Yes, exactly! Thank you, Kindaichi! See, Iwa-chan, Kindaichi understands me.”

“That explains absolutely nothing, Shittykawa,” Iwaizumi said. “It certainly doesn’t explain why you tried to drown the poor kid the first time we met him.”

“If Hinata Pan thinks he can just bring any old silly human boy to my island, who’s not even that pretty, and is an atrocious flyer, and then thinks he can just ignore me -“

“Just because you think you’re better than everyone else doesn’t mean.. wait,” Iwaizumi paused as realization dawned. “Wait. Are you jealous?!”

Oikawa’s face turned red in an instant. “I - no, of course not! Why would I be?!”

“You just said it.” Iwaizumi laughed. Oikawa could really be so simple sometimes. “You don’t like Kageyama because Hinata pays him more attention, now.”

Iwaizumi could hear Matsukawa and Hanamaki chuckling quietly in the background, as Oikawa’s scowl turned into a pout.

“It’s… it’s not that I like Hinata Pan, like that,” Oikawa said, soft enough that only Iwaizumi could hear. “You know that, right, Iwa-chan?”

Iwaizumi hummed as he leaned in closer. “Yeah, I do.”

“I mean, he’s not absolutely terrible company, but mostly…” Oikawa sounded slightly anxious now, and Iwaizumi suddenly felt bad for laughing at him. “Well, he distracts Ushiwaka, and when Ushiwaka’s distracted than he’s not coming after me.”

“Tooru,” Iwaizumi whispered, taking Oikawa’s hand in his. “We’ll never let Ushijima have you, you know? He’d have to come through me first, and despite your shitty attitude, I’d rather keep you to myself.”

“My hero is such a romantic,” Oikawa said, smiling, before grabbing Iwaizumi’s chin and pulling him into a kiss. Iwaizumi was quick to thread his fingers through Oikawa’s hair, deepening their contact.

“Please, there are children present,” Matsukawa said.

“Take that somewhere else. The other side of the island, maybe,” Hanamaki added.

Oikawa broke the kiss, probably to make some snappy comeback, but Iwaizumi grabbed him before he could say anything and pulled him into the water. There were plenty of perfectly good places for kissing under the surface, anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> snooty (adjective): behaving in an unfriendly way because you believe you are better than other people (sound like Oikawa, anyone?)
> 
> Since I don't want to spend time establishing background, here's what you should know:
> 
> \- Hinata Pan and his Lost Boys (aka Karasuno) spend their days in Neverland playing games and causing trouble. Hinata, with the help of his pixie Tsukki Bell, has recently brought Kageyama, Yamaguchi, and Lev to Neverland.  
> \- Seijou Lagoon is home to Oikawa and the rest of the mermaids. They spend their time lazing around and looking pretty. They are generally friendly to everyone, except for Ushijima and his crew.  
> \- Ushijima is the captain of the pirate ship _Shiratorizawa_. They sail around Neverland, looking at plants (and sometimes bringing them onboard.) Ushijima wants to capture Oikawa and make him the figurehead of his ship.  
>  \- Nekoma is a warrior clan, led by Kuroo. Since there's not much actual fighting to be done, they mostly just mess around with everyone in the general vicinity (mainly the Lost Boys.)  
> \- _Fukurodani_ is another pirate ship that frequents the area, captained by Bokuto. They do a bit of trade and sometimes relay messages from other parts of the island.
> 
>  
> 
> [tumblr](http://distinct-dottiness.tumblr.com)


	2. Day 2: Precocious

“Wrong, Lev. Try again.”

Oikawa couldn't help but be impressed with the patience Kenma was exhibiting at the moment. He was sure that, were their positions reversed, he would have snapped and stormed off in frustration fifteen minutes ago.

As it was, he was content to sit in his little pool and watch the fighting play out before him. The north shore of Seijou Lagoon had a few little pockets of water that were quite shallow; perfect places to visit their land-dwelling friends. It was here that Oikawa had been resting when Kuroo, Kenma, and Lev made their way onto the beach.

“Warrior training!” Kuroo had called when he spotted Oikawa.

From what he could see, Oikawa hoped that Lev would never see a real battle.

“I don’t understand,” Kuroo sighed, sitting next to Oikawa. “I thought he was gifted. He picked up shooting quick enough, and he seems to understand the theory of hand-to-hand combat. He’s a smart kid. So why can’t he put it into practice?”

“Kenma’s been doing this for a long time,” Oikawa said, trying to sound reassuring. “And anyway, learning about a knife in your face must be a lot different than actually having a knife in your face.”

Kuroo chuckled. “Kenma can be pretty intimidating, when he wants to be.” Oikawa could see the fondness in his eyes.

“No, Lev,” they heard as the soft clashing of knives came to a stop. “You’re reacting too slowly, and giving me too many openings. Let’s try again.”

“Yes, Kenma-san!” Lev said, bowing. “Thank you, Kenma-san!”

“Say, Kuroo,” Oikawa said as the figures on the beach assumed another fighting stance. “Why aren’t you training him? Not that Kenma’s bad or anything, but I thought you were the most skilled at hand-to-hand?”

“Well - and you didn’t hear this from me - ever since Hinata brought those boys over, he’s been spending less and less time with Nekoma. Kenma’s been moping, so I thought he could use a distraction.”

“Huh,” Oikawa said.

They fell into silence again, just in time to hear Lev cry out, “Kuroo-san, Kuroo-san! I held onto my knife that time, did you see?! Didn’t I, Kenma-san?!”

Kenma nodded silently, and Oikawa had to laugh to himself. He looked about ready for a nap.

“Good job, kid!” Kuroo said, flashing a grin and a thumbs-up. “We’ll make a warrior of you, yet!”

“What, did the idiot finally do something right?”

Oikawa looked towards the trees lining the beach, where a new figure had emerged. “Hey, bedhead,” it addressed Kuroo. “Dinner’s almost ready, so -“

“Yaku-san!”

Oikawa turned back to Lev just in time to see him sheath his knife. Well, _try_ to sheath his knife. In his excitement over Yaku’s arrival, he somehow managed to cut straight through his belt instead. One silent moment later, and his pants fell down to pool around his ankles.

Oikawa could barely hear Kuroo’s groan over his own laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Synonyms of "precocious": forward, gifted, clever, quick, smart (could be Lev? maybe?)
> 
> This prompt was a bit of struggle, lol. I'll definitely have chapter three up by the end of the day!
> 
> [tumblr](http://distinct-dottiness.tumblr.com)


	3. Day 3: Racy

The sun was shining brightly from it’s place high in the sky, and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. Days like this usually meant relaxing on one of their favorite clusters of rocks, but it looked like Oikawa had other plans.

“Let’s have a race!” he cried, once they reached the surface of the lagoon. Yahaba quickly dove back down to fetch Kyoutani, even as Hanamaki and Matsukawa started to complain.

“Is there really a point to this, Oikawa?”

“Yeah, you know you’re not going to win.”

“You’re just jealous that you’ll never be as fast as me!” Oikawa said, sticking his tongue out at them.

Iwaizumi sighed. True, Oikawa was a very fast swimmer, one of the fastest. But only one of them usually won these competitions they had, and that was…

“Iwaizumi’s going to win, he always does,” Kunimi said quietly, as they started swimming out towards the starting position. It seemed they had all silently agreed to the race anyway.

“That is not true!” Oikawa said. “And besides, I’ve been practicing extra hard lately. I’ll definitely beat Iwa-chan this time!”

 _Ah_ , Iwaizumi thought. So that’s why Oikawa had been sneaking off on his own. Iwaizumi knew all to well about his partner’s obsessive tendencies.

“We’ll see, babe,” Iwaizumi muttered to himself. He did have a competitive streak, after all.

They soon found Yahaba and Kyoutani waiting at the starting line; a small coral reef about 200 meters from shore. Their target was a small rock a little ways out, and that was where Kunimi rested to call the winner. The rules of their races were simple: start at the coral reef, swim close to the surface but not above it, the first to touch the top of the rock wins, no touching the other racers.

“I’m going to win, Iwaizumi-san,” Kyoutani growled as they assembled. Yahaba rolled his eyes, and Iwaizumi grinned.

“I guess I don’t need to wish you luck, then,” he said.

“So what does the winner get?” Watari called, waving his hand in the water.

“If any of you can manage to defeat me,” Oikawa said, preening, “then the great Oikawa-sama will give the winner a kiss!”

Kyoutani’s scowl deepened, while Hanamaki pretended to hurl.

“Great, Oikawa, now none of us want to win,” Matsukawa said.

“Hmph. Fine, then! Kunimi can kiss the winner.”

“H-hey!” Kindaichi spluttered, face turning red. Iwaizumi sighed.

“This is getting us nowhere,” he said, swimming down to retrieve a small rock from the sea floor. “We’ll decide the prize once the race is over, alright? Everyone ready? On the signal.”

He dropped the rock, letting it float back down towards the sand. Once it hit, they were off.

The water churned as they sped forward as one group, but Iwaizumi quickly pulled ahead. The rush of the water along his body was thrilling, his tail and fins bursting with speed and power. The pixies and the Lost Boys could keep flying; surely, swimming was the best way to travel.

When he was near the finish, Iwaizumi chanced a quick glance behind him. Oikawa was close, maybe a little closer than usual if he had to guess. _Sorry, sweetheart_ , he thought as he put in an extra blast of speed, racing up to break the surface and claim his victory.

Oikawa shot up just a few seconds behind him, with Kyoutani close behind.

For his trouble, Kunimi got a face full of water. “Iwaizumi’s the winner,” he said. He almost sound bored.

“Of course he is,” Oikawa whined, crossing his arms and starting to sulk. Kyoutani just pounded the water with his fist and cursed.

“Language,” Matsukawa teased, having just made it to the finish. He was soon joined by Watari, then Kindaichi and Yahaba in a tie. Hanamaki seemed to have disappeared somewhere along the way.

“So, what’s the prize?” Kunimi asked.

“We hadn’t picked one yet,” Yahaba said. “Maybe Iwaizumi should decide? I assume he won.”

Oikawa huffed, and Iwaizumi could see that his sulking would soon turn into a tantrum. Only one way to stop that.

“Well,” he said slowly, look at Oikawa with intent. “I don’t know… maybe a kiss from the great Oikawa-sama?”

“It won’t work, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa said, turning away. “I’m mad at you. No kisses from me.”

Iwaizumi closed the distance between them. “You sure about that, babe?” He ran his fingers along Oikawa’s shoulder. “I think I earned it, don’t you?”

Iwaizumi smirked when he saw the blush spreading on Oikawa’s cheeks, and he knew he had won again. It never took too long to break Oikawa’s resolve; not over something like kissing, anyway.

“Fine, then,” Oikawa said. “If you insist.” He turned towards Iwaizumi, but it was Iwaizumi who grabbed his face and brought their mouths together.

It was then that Hanamaki decided to surface.

“You guys, check out this awesome seashell I - oh, no, don’t go feeding his ego like that!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I won't end every chapter that has both Oikawa and Iwaizumi in it with them being disgusting.
> 
> Tomorrow is Star Wars Day; get ready for a bit of crack!
> 
> [tumblr](http://distinct-dottiness.tumblr.com)


	4. Day 4: Star Wars Day

The creek on the south shore of Seijou Lagoon was, in Oikawa’s opinion, only good for two things: as a place for the Lost Boys to splash around in, and for the bright pink flowers lining the bank that, when crushed, made both a tasty snack and a balm for sunburns.

It was here that he found himself one morning, stuffing a bag full of flowers with Yahaba as his companion, when a shrill squawking sound filled the air.

“And I was like, gwah! And his hand flew right off! And that’s why Ushijima’s so scared of me!”

Yahaba snickered as Oikawa frowned. If Hinata Pan was around, that probably meant his shadow was, too. His newly acquired one.

“You did not cut off his hand, idiot. There’s no way.”

“And Kageyama too, huh?” Yahaba whispered, still laughing. Oikawa had half a mind to hit him.

“Did too!”

“Did not!”

“Ugh, fine! But I almost did! And he’s still scared of me, so there!”

“Let's go,” Oikawa muttered, making to push off the bank. “If they get too close they’ll spot us, and I do not want to talk to darling Tobio-chan right now.”

His head was almost underwater when he heard, “It’s like _Star Wars_. People lose their hands in that all the time.”

Wait. Star - Star _What?!_

“Uwahhh! What’s that?!”

“It’s an American movie. They’re like, uh, I don’t know, pictures that move? And when you see it it’s all dark inside, and you eat popcorn and stuff. Anyway, it tells a story.”

“Oikawa?” Yahaba said quietly, but Oikawa shushed him. He didn’t know what popcorn was, but moving pictures?! Why didn’t they have those in Neverland?

“Woah, so cool! Does everyone lose a hand in movies?”

“Obviously not, dumbass. And anyway, that’s not what _Star Wars_ is about. There’s a princess, and, uh, some guys that have glowing swords, and a couple of annoying robots, and they fly around the galaxy saving people and stuff. And the people just, like, live together with aliens, it’s kinda weird.”

Oikawa gasped. Aliens?! They had aliens, too?!

“Aliens?!” Hinata burst into laughter. “Bakageyama, there’s no such thing! You sound like Oikawa!”

“Well, they’re in the movie! There’s a big fat one, and a tiny green one that talks funny, and a big furry guy that follows the heroes around; actually, I’m not sure he counts…”

“Oh, Oikawa! Yahaba!”

Oikawa was startled out of his reverie, and looked up to see Hinata and Kageyama just a few feet from the bank of the creek. Kageyama stared at them from the ground, but Hinata was floating in the air, and started to make his way over.

Oikawa promptly dove beneath the surface; he thought he could hear Yahaba make a quick apology to the others before joining him. Maybe, Oikawa thought, just maybe, he would have to ask Kageyama more about _Star Wars_ sometime. For now, though, he had to get home right away.

 

***

 

He found Iwaizumi eating an early lunch, and almost bowled him over in his excitement.

“Iwa-chan, Iwa-chan! You won’t believe what I just heard!”

Iwaizumi groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Oikawa loves aliens in any universe.
> 
> [tumblr](http://distinct-dottiness.tumblr.com)


	5. Day 5: Fluid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry for getting behind here. The prompts for days 5 and 6 were already giving me problems with ideas, but then I had some unexpected family stuff this weekend that took up most of my free time. I should hopefully be caught up by Friday morning! Thank you for reading!

No one could deny that Oikawa was beautiful.

Maybe Iwaizumi was biased. Objectively, he knew there were other beautiful people in Neverland. Sugawara, for instance, with his silver hair and kind face. Or Akaashi, whose rare smiles were a sight to behold.

Maybe Iwaizumi was biased, but it hardly mattered to him.

It wasn’t just Oikawa’s hair, the soft silky strands that gave way to Iwaizumi’s fingers with ease. It wasn’t just his lips, which moved in perfect rhythm with Iwaizumi’s every time. It wasn’t just his tail, that shimmered in the water and glowed in the sun (though to be fair, Iwaizumi _could_ stare at it all day.)

It was in the way he moved, the way he held and carried himself. His easy grace that belied the power of his muscles. How he commanded attention without even trying.

He was like the water in which they lived: always present, always changing.

Always beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "not every chapter will have mushy Iwaoi" ~~whoops~~
> 
> I still have no idea what I'm writing for day 6 (the prompt is "rocked" like??), but I'll have it up tomorrow for sure!
> 
> [tumblr](http://distinct-dottiness.tumblr.com)


	6. Day 6: Rocked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters will have lots of guest appearances from Fukurodani and Nekoma, and maybe even a Lost Boy or two! Enjoy!

Oikawa was simply enjoying a midday swim along the surface, taking in the sunshine and the quiet, when a sudden shout caught his attention.

“Hey, hey, hey!”

_Bokuto_ , Oikawa thought. The _Fukurodani_ must have laid anchor recently. A quick glance towards the distant shore revealed the crazy pirate captain and his best friend, Kuroo. And - Oikawa squinted - was that Hanamaki and Matsukawa in the water?

That couldn’t be good.

Oikawa silently made his way closer to the group of idiots on the beach, stopping a short ways away to hide behind a rock. He couldn’t make out the conversation, but Bokuto and Kuroo appeared to be messing with something lying in the sand; an explosive of some kind? Hanamaki and Matsukawa were eagerly watching from their nearby pool, and seemed to be shouting encouragement.

Oikawa was torn between letting them kill themselves or trying to stop them, but before he could do anything, he saw a spark of flame and heard Kuroo shout, “Run!” Oikawa watched, amused, as Bokuto and Kuroo made to dash off, but their explosive was faster.

BOOM!

A huge cloud of smoke burst into the air; the otherwise still waters of the lagoon rocked with the force of the blast. For a long moment, Oikawa couldn’t hear anything at all.

When the smoke cleared, Oikawa could see that Bokuto and Kuroo were, miraculously, still standing. It looked like Bokuto had lost his shirt in the explosion, and Kuroo… Oikawa couldn't help himself, and laughed along with the others.

Kuroo had lost half his hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo took to begging every pixie he could find to help him grow his missing hair back. Tsukishima just laughed in his face, while Kiyoko politely declined. Yachi, being a good little bean, finally took pity on him, but if anything she made his bedhead a little worse. Kuroo's not complaining, though.
> 
> [tumblr](http://distinct-dottiness.tumblr.com)


	7. Day 7: Pirate

Pirates, in Oikawa’s opinion, were little more than thieving brutes who couldn’t make it on land and so had to flee to the ocean instead.

Well, okay. He had heard somewhere that pirates in other places were thieves, but the pirates that sailed around Neverland didn’t seem to do much thieving. They didn’t really act like criminals at all, and most of them were quite at home on the high seas.

Still.

Oikawa could admit that there were a few exceptions. Akaashi, the first mate of the _Fukurodani_ , was quiet and intelligent, and somehow possessed the magical ability to counter his captain’s frequent mood swings. Shirofuku, the only female pirate Oikawa had ever seen, was pleasant company and a competent sailor all around. Even the _Shiratorizawa_ had a fairly decent fellow on board, called Reon, if Hanamaki was to be believed.

Ugh. Even just thinking of Ushiwaka’s ship brought a frown to Oikawa’s face. It was a massive thing, with billowing white sails and wood stained so dark it resembled wine. Hinata Pan had once told Oikawa that it was filled with plants from all over Neverland. The mermaids would almost call it pretty, if they didn’t know just how troublesome it’s crew could be.

If Oikawa looked at it that way, Bokuto’s crew was almost top-notch. Their ship was certainly on the smaller side, but the sleek black body and dazzling golden sails cut an impressive figure in the water. And they had never attacked Oikawa or the others out of anything but jest.

But they were loud, and boisterous, and they indulged their captain too much. How could anyone follow someone as foolish and erratic as Bokuto?

Brutes, then. Good only for short distractions -

A smack to the head broke through Oikawa’s thoughts.

“Hey, Shittykawa!” Iwaizumi was scowling at him. Oikawa pouted back.

“Mean, Iwa-chan!” How rude. Maybe Iwa-chan should be a pirate.

Iwaizumi’s face softened a little. “You alright in there?” he asked, knocking Oikawa’s forehead gently. “You’ve been spacing out for the last few minutes…”

_Crap_ , Oikawa thought. Had it been that long? It was a bright sunny day in Neverland, and they were lounging on the rocks as usual. It felt like only a moment had passed since Watari had spotted a ship sailing through the mouth of the lagoon. And ships only meant one thing.

“It’s just Bokuto,” Iwaizumi said, still looking at Oikawa with some concern. “You want to go see what’s up?”

Oikawa sighed, and smiled. He supposed he could put up with some crazy pirates for an afternoon.

“Sure, Iwa-chan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While most of the groups in Neverland get along with each other, they all low-key think they're the best. The mermaids especially!
> 
> [tumblr](http://distinct-dottiness.tumblr.com)


	8. Day 8: Masculine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a direct continuation from the previous chapter, only now it's Iwaizumi's point of view! It's also quite a bit longer than any of the previous chapters; I just couldn't stop writing. Enjoy!

As it happened, the crew of the _Fukurodani_ just wanted to visit for the afternoon. They’d been anchored close to Nekoma for a week or two, and had just left that morning to sail south. It’d been Akaashi’s idea to stop by the lagoon on the way.

Iwaizumi always enjoyed their visits, however brief. The pirates were a jolly bunch, and loved to talk about the goings-on in the rest of Neverland (though Iwaizumi suspected that most of Bokuto’s stories were grossly embellished.)

He was in the middle of one of those stories now, in fact, leaning over the side of his ship to tell the mermaids about a recent fight they’d had on the west side of the island. Akaashi, standing with Bokuto, had rolled his eyes so many times that Iwaizumi lost count. He could hear Oikawa snickering quietly beside him.

“Iwaizumi-san!”

Startled, Iwaizumi looked around. Most of them were gathered around to hear Bokuto’s story. Hanamaki and Matsukawa were out of sight, presumably talking to Konoha somewhere. Watari was a little ways off, swimming with Komi. And behind them… ah.

Kyoutani was swimming towards the ship with a determined scowl on his face.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Bokuto shouted, spotting the new arrival. “You’re just in time to hear about how I blasted a whole ship to smithereens!”

“It really wasn’t the whole ship, Bokuto-san…”

“I challenge you to beat me at arm wrestling,” Kyoutani growled in Iwaizumi’s face, having reached them. Nearly everyone groaned, while Oikawa started laughing.

“Again, Kyouken-chan?! You’ll never be strong enough to beat Iwa-chan!”

Iwaizumi frowned. That seemed a little unfair. It was true that Kyoutani was much scrawnier than him, but the muscles he did have were no joke. And what he lacked in strength, he certainly made up for in tenacity. Iwaizumi thought, with a bit of fine tuning, Kyoutani could definitely beat him someday.

So, ignoring Oikawa, Iwaizumi said, “Sure, Kyoutani, I accept your challenge.”

“Alright, awesome!” Bokuto yelled. “Hey, hey, everyone! They’re having a fight down there!”

“You don’t need to be so loud, Bokuto-san.”

There were a few rocks poking out of the water nearby; one of them had a fairly level surface that would do well. The mermaids gathered around, the pirates watching intently from the ship, as Iwaizumi clasped Kyoutani’s hand over the rock. Oikawa settled between them, placing his hand on top of theirs.

“Ready? Set, go!”

The burst of power Kyoutani put out when their hands were released almost caught Iwaizumi off guard. His arm was forced halfway to the rock before he was able to counter it. Their arms hovered around in the middle for a minute or two, then, and Iwaizumi was impressed. This was actually challenging for him!

“Come on, Kentarou!” Yahaba cried.

Kyoutani was putting up a good fight, but Iwaizumi could tell he was staring to get tired, and fast. Just one good push…

Iwaizumi slammed Kyoutani’s fist to the rock.

A cheer rose up from the ship. “Nice one, Iwaizumi!” Watari said. Kyoutani made to turn away, but Iwaizumi stopped him.

“Hey,” he said. “You did good, okay? You almost got me there at the start. You just need to work on controlling your strength, alright? You’ll get there.”

Kyoutani nodded once, curtly, before disappearing with an angry splash. Yahaba sighed before going after him.

“Uwahh! Bokuto! I thought you guys were leaving?!”

Iwaizumi looked up. Hinata Pan had arrived out of nowhere, flying a loop around the ship before settling on the railing.

“Hey, Hinata!” Bokuto gave Hinata a high-five. “We are, but we decided to swing by on the way! We’re watching arm wrestling!”

“Ooooooohhhhh!”

“Well, we were,” Oikawa said, crossing his arms and smirking. “Iwa-chan already beat Kyouken-chan, though. So unless someone else -“

“Oh, oh, I wanna go! I wanna fight Iwaizumi!” Hinata was jumping up and down on the railing, and Iwaizumi smiled. He was certain Hinata had no real strength in those tiny arms of his, but it was hard to say no to him.

“Get over here, then,” he called.

A second later they were all thoroughly splashed as Hinata zoomed into the water. His eyes were gleaming as he took Iwaizumi’s hand; he looked excited beyond belief. Oikawa looked like he was barely holding back his laughter.

“Ready, set, go!”

It was clear in an instant that Hinata was no match for him. His face contorted with the strain of trying to move Iwaizumi’s arm even a little bit. It would have been hilarious if it wasn’t making Iwaizumi feel bad. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to indulge him a little, right?

So Iwaizumi put on his best look of concentration, and started to let his arm wobble towards the rock every few seconds.

“H-ha!” Hinata huffed. “Look, everyone! I can -“ huff - “I can do it!”

_Poor kid_ , Iwaizumi thought. Oh well. He allowed one last arm wobble before (gently) pinning Hinata’s fist to the rock.

“Gwah!” Hinata cried, cradling his arm like Iwaizumi had seriously injured it. The mermaids all started laughing, while encouraging shouts rang out from the ship.

“Good try, Hinata!”

“You’ll get him next time for sure!”

“Good job, little guy!”

Oikawa wiped the tears from his eyes. “Oh, if only there was someone who could defeat my Iwa-chan!”

Splash! Iwaizumi glanced towards the base of the ship, where Bokuto’s head bobbed out of the water.

“I’ll do it!”

Iwaizumi had no reason to say no, but he eyed Bokuto’s arms wearily as he swam towards the rock. He definitely had some muscles there, but did he know how to use them?

Oikawa smirked again as Bokuto reached them and they took their positions.

“Good luck, Iwa-chan,” he purred, before leaning in to give Iwaizumi a quick kiss on the cheek.

Iwaizumi heard a low growl, and noticed that Kyoutani and Yahaba had rejoined their group while he was battling Hinata. Kyoutani was scowling, but at least he didn’t look like he was ready to murder someone anymore.

“Hey, no fair!” Bokuto splashed the water with his free hand, turning back towards his ship. “Akaashi, come give me a kiss!”

Akaashi stared impassively. “No, Bokuto-san. Catch.” He blew a kiss instead, which Bokuto caught with glee.

“Hmph,” Oikawa said, grabbing their hands. “Ready, set, go!”

It took Iwaizumi a moment to realize that they were very evenly matched. He wasn’t giving Bokuto an inch, but he could barely move his arm, either. It didn’t help that Bokuto was staring him down with those intense eyes of his; like a bird of prey circling his kill.

“Go, Bokuto!” Hinata cheered, back on the ship again to dry off. The rest of the crew joined in.

“You can do it, captain!”

“You got this, ace!”

“Come on, Iwaizumi!” Kindaichi cried.

“I bet you’re pretty tired, huh?” Bokuto said quietly, almost lost among all the shouting. And he started slowly pushing Iwaizumi’s arm down.

Try as he might, Iwaizumi couldn’t stop it. A hush fell over all assembled as his hand was forced to touch the rock.

The silence broke when Bokuto’s crew started clapping and cheering, Hinata joining them with a loud crow. Akaashi remained silent, but Iwaizumi noted with some frustration that he was the one smirking, now.

As for the mermaids, they were all staring at Iwaizumi in shock. All except Kyoutani, who was looking at Bokuto with a grudging admiration that Iwaizumi had only seen directed at himself a few times before.

Well, damn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing says "masculine" like arm wrestling, amiright?
> 
> Not pictured: Oikawa staring at Iwaizumi's bulging arm muscles. Boy's thirsty, now.
> 
> I was hoping to get the next chapter up today as well, but this took me a while to write (insert the Baymax "I am not fast" gif here) and my hand hurts, so it'll probably be tomorrow instead.
> 
> [tumblr](http://distinct-dottiness.tumblr.com)


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